Ornamental pillows have found significant application in many decorating environments. These environments generally comprise rooms in a residence or office. These environments are stationary. However, formal decorating has also been provided in mobile environments. For example, the Lincoln Town Car, beginning in the 1980's, had models decorated by such designers as Bill Blass. In 2003, the Lincoln Town Car had a Cartier model. Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company has more recently introduced a series of cars with the name Designer Series. Other manufacturers have introduced designer option packages. The art of interior design has been expanded from within the home to the interior of vehicles such as automobiles.
Interior design commonly utilizes a number of accessories such as, for example, accent pillows. When used in stationary environments, accessories will stay where they are put. However, in mobile environments, accessories such as pillows may move from a position in which they are originally placed. In a car, a pillow may move when a car goes around the turn or hits a bump. In a smaller boat, e.g., 25 feet, a pillow may fall on to a floor from where it was placed, in response to choppy water conditions or when the boat is making a sharp turn. A fallen pillow may present a safety hazard when an unsuspecting passenger steps on it. The decorator pillow may also become filthy when dropped on a floor. Many materials are hard to clean. Decorator pillows specifically designed for use in mobile environments have not been provided. Weighted pillows exist. However, they have been provided for other purposes and are not suited to decorating in a mobile environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,453 discloses a seating device including a base portion and at least one top cushion movably positioned on the base portion. An insert of relatively heavier material than that of the cushion is placed in the lower portion of the cushion to maintain the latter in a selected position on the base while the seating device is in use. The top cushion may be an arm cushion, a back cushion or a head cushion. The insert in the lower portion of the top cushion may be of a loose, pourable granulate material such as sand. Additionally the top cushion may be held in a selected position by affixing a Velcro® fastener to the underside of the top cushion. The cushion must be part of an integrated chair or sofa. The cushion cannot have an independent or arbitrary shape or other design element. In embodiments in which Velcro is used, a fastener must be placed on a substrate surface as well as on the cushion. In many applications, a user wants to have the option of removing the cushion and not leave a fastener visible on the substrate. In these applications, the substrate must not have a fastener attached thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,226,737 discloses a beach blanket having weighted corners. However, this comprises a substantially two-dimensional object that does not have an ornamental relationship with respect to a substrate surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,526 discloses a post-operative pillow including a weight and means to removably secure the weight to the pillow. The function of the weight is to assist in the application of pressure to a localized area of the patient's body. A pocket formed on an outer portion of the pillow receives a removably secured weight which is frictionally retained within the pocket. The pillow does not have a significant position to be maintained in the absence of a user. The weight is selected to be applied to a user. The weight is not related to positioning of the pillow.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,429 discloses an inflatable beach pillow provided with a water compartment that can be filled to anchor the pillow in place, and also has a sand pocket that can alternatively be filled with sand to serve as a weighting material. The sand pocket can slip over the back of a chair to allow the inflatable pillow to serve as a headrest. This pillow includes separate sections for weight and for cushioning. It does not serve as an ornamental pillow.
United States Patent Published Application 20020152553 discloses a support travel cushion that attaches to a bucket seat back of an automobile or other vehicle which primarily supports the users upper back or neck during travel. An attached strap is used to secure the cushion to the bucket seat. A pillow is provided in a car, but it is not decorative, and it must be secured to a seat.
These prior embodiments do not disclose a pillow that can be provided having a shape that is independent of its supporting substrate and which is adapted for maintaining a substantially fixed spatial relationship to the supporting substrate while not requiring the use of fastening means.